1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:04,120 So I'd like to start off by just asking you guys a simple 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:09,120 question. Does anyone here have anxieties? 3 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:14,760 Maybe you don't like calling them anxieties. 4 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:22,520 Maybe you like to classify it as stress or simply just worry that 5 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:24,520 I experienced on a day-to-day basis. 6 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:31,240 But I've had a lot of anxieties in my life specifically even in 7 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:37,720 the past year, and they're usually over things I fear I 8 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:41,600 will fail at. And honestly, there are also 9 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:44,200 some things that are just completely out of my control. 10 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:47,680 There are things like, where is my life going? 11 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:53,000 How am I going to get there? Is it going to be worth it when 12 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:56,240 I do get there? Will I have wasted my life 13 00:00:56,240 --> 00:01:03,440 pursuing something that I end up hating or will I never get there 14 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:06,440 and waste my life just pursuing something worthlessly? 15 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:14,960 Sometimes it's things like where am I going to live or will I be 16 00:01:14,960 --> 00:01:20,800 understood? And when I get to where I live, 17 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:25,080 will I be married when I get there, or will I be single my 18 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:28,480 whole entire life? Will I be brave enough to face 19 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:33,000 that? You see, there's a lot of things 20 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:36,680 that cause anxiety in me, and that's just the beginning. 21 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:37,880 That's just scratching the surface. 22 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:42,960 If you have your Bibles, you can turn to Luke 12. 23 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:49,680 We'll be in verse 22. But for some of you, your 24 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:52,120 anxieties are probably different than mine. 25 00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:59,600 Maybe a conversation you were going to have with someone that 26 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:03,240 you know is going to be hard, or it's your kids first day at 27 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:06,800 school, or your kids first day at college. 28 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:11,720 Or maybe you're about to have another kid or your first kid 29 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:16,200 and you just wonder if you're doing this whole parent thing 30 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:21,200 right. See, a lot of times these things 31 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:27,200 will seep in and rising or and anxiety will rise up within you. 32 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:33,800 But in Luke chapter 12, Jesus is teaching his disciples something 33 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:39,560 and it's critical that they get it because without this, their 34 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:42,440 ministry will be hard and maybe even impossible. 35 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:48,040 So if you have your Bibles, you can turn there like I said, and 36 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:50,160 we're going to dive right in verse 22. 37 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:57,400 Then turning to his disciples, Jesus said that it that that is 38 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:01,400 why I tell you not to worry about everyday life, whether you 39 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:05,920 have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear for life 40 00:03:05,920 --> 00:03:10,600 is more than food and your body more than clothing. 41 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:15,720 Look at the Ravens. They don't plant or harvest or 42 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:21,920 store food in barns, for God feeds them and you are far more 43 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:25,200 more valuable to Him than any birds. 44 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:30,040 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? 45 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:36,680 And if worry can't accomplish a little thing like that, what's 46 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,680 the use of worrying over bigger things? 47 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,120 Look at the lilies and how they grow. 48 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:50,800 They don't work or make their clothes, yet Solomon in all his 49 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:54,560 glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 50 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:03,080 And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today 51 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:08,000 and thrown into the fire tomorrow, He will certainly care 52 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:12,560 for you. Why do you have so little faith? 53 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:17,200 Don't be concerned about what to eat or what to drink. 54 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:21,000 Don't worry about such things. These things dominate the 55 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,800 thoughts of unbelievers all over the world. 56 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,520 But your Father already knows your needs. 57 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:35,480 So seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and He will give you 58 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:37,640 everything you need. So. 59 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:41,400 So don't be afraid, little flock, for it gives your Father 60 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:43,960 great happiness to give you the Kingdom. 61 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:48,000 Now I know what some of you are probably thinking. 62 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:51,440 Yeah, that's really cool. I agree with that. 63 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:58,040 But how does one stop worrying? How does one stop being 64 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:01,760 concerned? These are the same questions 65 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:07,840 that I've been asking myself. And what I have found is that 66 00:05:07,840 --> 00:05:12,600 Jesus is teaching them. They can be reliant on God to 67 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:17,120 provide. I know that's massive new 68 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:22,600 awakening that you can have, but you see they shouldn't be 69 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:26,360 focused on building their own kingdoms, kingdoms of this 70 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:31,760 world, but should instead focus on the Kingdom of heaven which 71 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:36,640 they are working towards that Jesus is actively building. 72 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:43,080 So if I were to reframe this whole entire problem, I would 73 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:47,080 say that the answer and the problem are one of trust. 74 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:55,320 Do you trust the Lord? Like, do you really trust Him? 75 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:00,920 We've all heard it said, when we have something happening in our 76 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:04,880 lives, what are we told to do? Give it to God? 77 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:10,560 But what does that look like? See, I love how Pastor Blake 78 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:14,440 puts it where he will pretend to throw it up into the air like 79 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:19,080 it's some kind of magical hacky sack, but then it just comes 80 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:24,200 back down. See, all too often we do this 81 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:26,680 with prayer. We bring things to God and 82 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:30,840 actively go after Him. Lord, here, take my anxiety. 83 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:34,400 Take it. I don't want it simply to then 84 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:37,920 pick it right back up the next day and continue carrying on 85 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:48,440 ourselves. So how do you build that trust 86 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:52,080 with God? And this is what I found that 87 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:56,840 helps me build trust. You see, in the Old Testament, 88 00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:00,600 the Israelites would do many things to remember what God had 89 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:04,160 done for them. There were holidays such as 90 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:07,240 Passover, which reminded them of their escape from Egypt. 91 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:10,360 There were also memorials that they would raise up. 92 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:14,880 They would use these to teach their children for generations 93 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:17,240 what God did and how He moved for them. 94 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:25,280 Building trust in knowing how God has acted previously is key. 95 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:30,680 So in Joshua 4 we find a very interesting story. 96 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:36,280 The Israelites have finally made it to the Promised Land, and now 97 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:38,080 they have to cross the Jordan River. 98 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:44,960 And God, after 40 years of providing for them, isn't going 99 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:47,000 to let them figure this out by themselves. 100 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:52,960 So he told them, have the priest carry the ark of the covenant 101 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:59,080 into the Jordan, that's right, into the Jordan actively before 102 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:03,720 the miracle takes place. And when they did this, the 103 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:08,120 river stopped flowing. The priests were standing on dry 104 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:13,520 ground. So in Joshua chapter 4 verse 105 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:17,520 one, we get a little glimpse of what God commands them to do 106 00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:21,920 with this moment. When all the people had crossed 107 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:27,400 the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, now choose 12 men, one 108 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:30,880 from each tribe. Tell them to take the 12. 109 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:34,000 Take 12 Stones from the very place where the priests were 110 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:39,000 standing in the middle of the Jordan, Carry them out and pile 111 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:42,640 them up at the place where you or where where you will camp 112 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:46,440 tonight. So Joshua called together the 12 113 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:50,400 men he had chosen, one from each of the tribes of Israel. 114 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:53,840 He told them, Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the 115 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:57,800 ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up 1 stone 116 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:02,760 and carry it out on your shoulder. 12 Stones in all, one 117 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:06,760 for each of the tribes. We will use these stones to 118 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:13,320 build a memorial in the future. Your children will ask you what 119 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:17,680 do these stones mean? Then you can tell them. 120 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:24,080 They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the 121 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:26,280 Ark of the Lord's Covenant went across. 122 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:30,880 These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of 123 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:37,600 Israel forever. Now I'd like to just pause there 124 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:42,040 for a second and zoom in. How big do you think those 125 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:48,200 stones were 'cause that's the part that first stuck out to me. 126 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:51,440 I mean, these guys straight up had to shoulder these stones and 127 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:55,440 carry them to their campsite. They weren't tiny little pebbles 128 00:09:55,440 --> 00:10:02,200 that I first imagined. And so diving in even further, 129 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:04,280 did you hear what God told them to do? 130 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:12,040 He made them make a memorial. And he said, when your kids ask, 131 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:13,960 that's when you explain it to them. 132 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:18,400 So what memorials could you make in your life? 133 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:23,960 What things has God done for you that you go on day after day 134 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:28,360 forgetting about? And can you teach your kids 135 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:32,800 about them? You see, I would say you should 136 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:37,720 start building memorials today. They don't have to be ones made 137 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:40,320 out of stone. If you can shoulder a stone, 138 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:42,640 that's pretty rad, I'm not going to lie. 139 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:48,280 But you should do it somehow, writing them down, little sticky 140 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:51,400 notes here or there. Maybe it's you. 141 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:55,320 Go and buy a new vase for your flowers or something. 142 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:57,920 Plant a new flower in your garden that reminds you of that 143 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:03,200 moment when life took place. But build them. 144 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:08,200 Remind yourself of when the times were all too hard and God 145 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:11,400 came through. Remind yourself of when you were 146 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:15,440 completely alone and then God spoke and you felt that He was 147 00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:18,200 near. They don't have to be big 148 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:20,720 moments. They could be just simple little 149 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:29,240 moments where God showed up. Don't diminish them. 150 00:11:32,320 --> 00:11:35,920 You see, the cross is a memorial that we see every day. 151 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:40,560 Every time I turn and look on Sunday and I see that cross, I 152 00:11:40,560 --> 00:11:44,720 am reminded of what Christ did for me 2000 years ago. 153 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:54,560 You see, in C2 I heard it explained like this, that our 154 00:11:54,560 --> 00:11:57,840 lives are like puzzles and they certainly seem puzzling at 155 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:02,680 times, but God will show up every so often. 156 00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:08,760 Give us give us an answer here and an answer there, filling in 157 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:12,720 these puzzle pieces of our life and slowly the picture will take 158 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:15,680 place and you'll understand how much you can trust God. 159 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:22,560 So what puzzle pieces do you need to write down to remember 160 00:12:22,560 --> 00:12:28,160 how God has acted for you and that he really does move? 161 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:32,080 Not figuratively, because you have moments with them 162 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:35,360 throughout your life. You see, it would have been 163 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:40,240 crazy for the Israelites to move on from the Red Sea or move on 164 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:44,400 from even the Jordan and just forget completely what God had 165 00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:48,640 just done for them, how God rescued them, how God brought 166 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:54,600 them along the whole way. And in fact, that's actually 167 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:58,280 what they ended up doing. They ignored their memorials, 168 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:02,840 they ignored all of the signposts before them and forgot 169 00:13:02,840 --> 00:13:07,040 God. And so you see, it can be all 170 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:12,440 too easy for us to do the same, to walk through life forgetting 171 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:17,520 about what God has done, which proves to us how trustworthy He 172 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:23,320 is. So write these down tonight or 173 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:25,920 tomorrow whenever you think of them. 174 00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:29,360 And when you get a moment, teach them to your kids. 175 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:33,600 Show them how God moves in your life. 176 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:41,680 Now the next thing that builds trust is having a relationship 177 00:13:41,680 --> 00:13:45,120 with God. And yes, I know most of you do 178 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:50,080 have a relationship with God, but I'm not talking about just a 179 00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:53,040 initial starting point relationship. 180 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:57,680 See, I'm not talking about just acknowledging him at meal times 181 00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:01,640 or showing up to church to tell everybody that you were doing 182 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:04,000 fine. And I know I just used the F 183 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:09,760 word that Blake loves so much. It is also more than just 184 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:14,200 listening to your favorite worship album on repeat or that 185 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:17,400 podcast episode a second time that really hit you and stirred 186 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:23,600 you up. How well do you know this God? 187 00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:31,160 How well can you trust Him? Because how well you know Him 188 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:33,960 will enable how much you trust Him. 189 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:42,200 He is not a God of just the past that your memorials will remind 190 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:45,440 you of. He is a God of all of the 191 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:50,040 present as well. So I'd like to tell you about a 192 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:53,840 book that I totally forgot to bring tonight to show to you. 193 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:58,880 But it's a book that my family used to read aloud growing up. 194 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:01,520 I highly encourage read alouds with your kids. 195 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:06,320 They are amazing. This book is called Godsmuggler. 196 00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:12,480 It's about a man named Andrew Vanderbilt, and I think I 197 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:16,680 pronounced that name correctly. He's also known as Brother 198 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:22,840 Andrew. This story about him is about 199 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:27,200 how he was a missionary during the Cold War to churches behind 200 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:33,200 the Iron Curtain in communism. He would smuggle Bibles to them. 201 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:37,600 And while he was doing all of this great work, there were 202 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:43,080 taught there were so many moments where he was confronted 203 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:47,960 with how much he needed God, moments that he couldn't do 204 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:52,680 himself, situations that he couldn't overcome with his own 205 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:57,560 mind and his own strength. He had to rely on God. 206 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:06,720 But before he could embark on this journey, he had to learn 207 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:12,200 how faith worked. One night while he was in his 208 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:16,920 seminary school, which is a whole nother story, he took a 209 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:20,480 long walk and this is what he discovered. 210 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:27,120 He found that he needed a relationship more than money. 211 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:32,240 His problems were not ones of money or provision or 212 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:36,280 protection, but how well he knew God. 213 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:45,240 In his own words, he said, if I were going to give my life as a 214 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:51,520 servant of the king, I had to know how know that king, What 215 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:56,480 was he like? In what way could I trust him in 216 00:16:56,480 --> 00:17:00,440 the same way I trusted a set of impersonal laws? 217 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:06,040 Or could I trust him as a living leader and a very present 218 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:11,160 commander in battle? So how well do you know God? 219 00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:18,760 And I don't mean about him. We can know a lot about God. 220 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:21,839 I know a lot about God that I regularly forget. 221 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:28,800 But how well do you know his character when you have anxiety? 222 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:37,000 Was the Red Sea just a metaphor for baptism or did that actually 223 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:45,880 happen for those people? When Jesus said that the faith 224 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:50,120 the size of a mustard seed would move mountains, is that true? 225 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:57,240 Or was he yanking her leg? And on the cross, when Jesus 226 00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:02,960 said it was finished, do you believe him and do you live in 227 00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:09,520 that truth now? What kind of what kind of God do 228 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:13,560 you serve? Who is he and do you know him? 229 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:20,160 See, I'm not trying to come at you guys. 230 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:26,200 This is more coming at myself. I've been asking myself these 231 00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:29,080 questions, all of them over and over again this year. 232 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:34,600 It is really easy for me to get distracted with work and trying 233 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:38,360 to make sure that I'm doing a good job so that I can get a pay 234 00:18:38,360 --> 00:18:42,480 raise or get a promotion or just get that attaboy. 235 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:50,480 But you see, I stopped working for God and His glory and I 236 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:53,280 start working for my boss and my own glory. 237 00:18:55,520 --> 00:19:00,240 And that is a human condition. So if you're like me, don't beat 238 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:02,480 yourself up. It really doesn't get you 239 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:05,280 anywhere. This is just an area in your 240 00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:11,880 life that you have to work on. And so right now I'd like to 241 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:16,280 invite a couple of volunteers, the Eriksons, they've so 242 00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:20,400 willingly volunteered themselves to come up here and be 243 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:24,360 embarrassed by me. And I was listening to Blake 244 00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:27,160 sermon today because I was over in kids ministry on Sunday. 245 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:32,840 And I was kind of shocked by what he had because as an 246 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:37,000 illustration, because it's exactly what I had as an 247 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:39,920 illustration. And so if you don't mind, 248 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:41,520 Tricia, I'd like you to put those on. 249 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:47,000 And if you don't mind Carol helping me set up a little path, 250 00:19:53,260 --> 00:19:54,380 We don't have to use all of these. 251 00:19:54,380 --> 00:19:55,060 Oh yes, we. Do. 252 00:19:56,060 --> 00:20:01,700 I like this. So put as many twists and curves 253 00:20:01,700 --> 00:20:06,420 as you want in there. Maybe even a roundabout or a 254 00:20:06,420 --> 00:20:15,840 cityscape if you can. Just create a path that you will 255 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:23,520 have to guide your wife down and don't worry because the whole 256 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:28,120 time you guide your wife, I will be doing everything in my power 257 00:20:28,120 --> 00:20:54,400 to trip her up. How many obstacles there? 258 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:58,800 Not many. Do you think that's good? 259 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:01,440 Do you want to put the chair in the way? 260 00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:03,160 No. OK. 261 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:06,320 All right. So, Carol, if you don't mind 262 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:11,000 taking your wife, placing her at the starting point, but then I 263 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:13,360 want you to verbally tell her where to go. 264 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:17,240 Oh, once you get her to the start starting point, 265 00:21:31,490 --> 00:21:37,330 now kick now kick. Now walk it by yourself. 266 00:21:49,980 --> 00:21:52,460 You probably want to take another step to the right. 267 00:21:53,540 --> 00:21:57,640 No, to the right. See, if you keep going forward, 268 00:21:57,640 --> 00:21:58,960 you're going to trip over something. 269 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:03,080 Quarter turn. More of like half a turn. 270 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:05,880 Do another whole turn. You should do another whole 271 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:08,160 turn. No. 272 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:10,240 What are you doing? No, not quite there. 273 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:13,680 If you want to continue, you're actually going to trip off the 274 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:15,520 stage. Your husband has been leading 275 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:19,480 you astray this whole time. No, you don't want to go there. 276 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:21,200 You're about to run into something. 277 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:22,640 See. He was doing it, though, on 278 00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:23,200 purpose. Stop. 279 00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:25,800 You're good. You can take off the blindfold. 280 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:27,880 See, I was telling you the truth. 281 00:22:33,360 --> 00:22:36,280 So how could you trust what your husband said? 282 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:39,200 Because. I trust him. 283 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:40,800 I trust him. I know his voice. 284 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:45,640 I trust him, yeah. Why didn't you lead her astray? 285 00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:51,920 Because I wouldn't want to see Yeah, fear, No, no, I wouldn't 286 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:54,520 want because I love her and I don't want to see her or fail. 287 00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:00,880 How did you build this relationship of trust between 288 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:04,080 one another where a silly goofball like me can make you 289 00:23:04,120 --> 00:23:08,560 walk on stage blindfolded and you guide her? 290 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:10,720 How could you guys build that kind of relationship? 291 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:14,000 I. Was just being around each other 292 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:18,480 and knowing that well, what she says she she means and hopefully 293 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:20,240 that she understands what I say I, I mean. 294 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:23,720 What about you? It's the same. 295 00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:27,200 I mean, we're at connection. We're together a lot and we talk 296 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:30,600 a lot and we're, you know, we talk a lot. 297 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:32,480 We're together all the time or most of the time. 298 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:37,040 So you're telling me the way you built this relationship of trust 299 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:41,320 is literally spending as much time together as you could? 300 00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:48,960 Yeah, that's not helpful at all. Please give a round of applause 301 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:53,320 for the Ericsson's. They were so trusting when they 302 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:57,080 probably shouldn't have been on Andy's cleaning up. 303 00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:00,080 And you know, is this the payback? 304 00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:08,760 You're just going to walk away? You see, like they said, they 305 00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:12,440 could rely on one another because they spent time with one 306 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:16,560 another intentionally building a relationship of trust. 307 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:22,640 If they didn't trust one another, then they would. 308 00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:27,400 Or then Tricia would have started doubting what her 309 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:30,400 husband was saying. This would have stalled her in 310 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:33,200 her obedience of what he was saying to her. 311 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:37,400 Or even worse, she would have got her own idea of what she 312 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:39,560 needed to do and just charged off. 313 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:49,800 And it's the same with God. We have to know Him, knowing His 314 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:56,800 voice and knowing his character, and in that you will begin to 315 00:24:56,800 --> 00:25:03,640 trust him more. When life feels blind and your 316 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:11,640 fears grip you, you will know that you can trust His 317 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:18,560 directions. Something you can do better or 318 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:23,040 do to better your relationship with God is like they said, 319 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:31,440 create time with Him. Find or treat him like he's an 320 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:34,560 actual person. And like Pastor Blake says, 321 00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:40,600 spend time every single day in his Word praying or even the 322 00:25:40,600 --> 00:25:42,800 scary part, sitting in silence with Him. 323 00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:45,960 For if you're not listening to Him and all you're doing is 324 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:51,320 talking, is that really a relationship or is that therapy? 325 00:25:55,880 --> 00:26:00,400 You can find opportunities to serve other people because in 326 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:03,280 serving other people, you're doing exactly what he did. 327 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:12,200 But don't do it because you have to do it because you want to 328 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:17,480 know God better. You might try fasting. 329 00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:22,800 This is a great thing, a great way to get to know God. 330 00:26:25,360 --> 00:26:29,320 It doesn't have to be big, not a week or even a whole day. 331 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:32,680 It could literally be just one meal that you choose to spend 332 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:35,040 with him instead of going and eating. 333 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:38,800 Or instead of watching TV at night, you go and spend time 334 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:46,960 with Him. Whatever you do, you got to 335 00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:50,280 spend it with Him. Maybe once or twice a month you 336 00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:52,400 go on a walk. That's something I used to like 337 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:55,440 to do. Go on a long walk with God. 338 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:58,240 It almost sounds like it's going on a date with him. 339 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:03,800 But don't wait. Whatever you do, do it this 340 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:06,720 week. I'd encourage all of you right 341 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:10,360 now even to pull out your phones, look at your schedules, 342 00:27:10,360 --> 00:27:16,520 find a time for God and start scheduling it, because in that 343 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:19,680 you will start building a relationship of trust with Him. 344 00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:27,800 And Speaking of relationships of trust, the last thing I've been 345 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:35,440 learning and forcibly by God is not living inside of my anxiety, 346 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:43,480 but actually taking my anxieties to people, to believers, and 347 00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:48,560 trusting them with it. See, if we're going to trust 348 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:54,840 God, sometimes He places people around us and asks us to go to 349 00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:58,880 them. So I'd like to share a story 350 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:04,680 with you guys, and it's a story that I am not completely proud 351 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:07,680 of. It happened earlier this year. 352 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:14,720 And you see, earlier this year I had some issues with my car. 353 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:18,240 I say some issues, a lot of issues. 354 00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:23,440 My steering wheel at some point decided that it just wanted to 355 00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:28,560 play bobblehead and start shaking violently if I hit 60 356 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:31,320 miles an hour. It was really scary. 357 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:34,760 And I wish I would tell you I could tell you that that just 358 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:37,120 happened. I don't know how or don't know 359 00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:42,840 why but in fact I had stood on knowing that I needed to fix my 360 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:49,040 car for over a year. See last year when inspection 361 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:54,600 came time and I had to read re register my car they told me you 362 00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:59,200 have a lot of parts that are bad and you can pass this time but 363 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:00,880 you'll need to get them fixed soon. 364 00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:06,720 When I saw the price tag I said cool I'm going to ADHD, mind 365 00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:11,000 dump that and move on with my year because I got a lot to do 366 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:16,560 and this is going to hold me up. So I ignored it, procrastinated. 367 00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:21,640 I could have saved my money, I could have made a plan, but I 368 00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:24,800 didn't. And then Christmas started 369 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:31,800 coming around and this problem started happening and it started 370 00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:36,520 scaring me. But instead of that moment doing 371 00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:44,840 the wise thing and going and getting it fixed or speaking to 372 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:48,200 them and trying to work something out to get it fixed, I 373 00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:50,600 again decided to ignore the problem. 374 00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:56,920 I continued driving my car and continued to be anxious. 375 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:02,240 I didn't drive over 55 miles an hour for like 3 months. 376 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:08,560 And I know that's maybe extreme to some people, but you see, 377 00:30:08,640 --> 00:30:10,680 anxiety doesn't care about logic. 378 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:18,040 Anxiety only cares about running away from the problem. 379 00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:23,160 How can I avoid ownership or responsibility? 380 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:30,480 Now I wish that I could tell you that in this time I was going to 381 00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:35,240 people and talking to them and and trying to find help, but I 382 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:39,200 didn't. Because you see in that moment I 383 00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:44,720 knew that the problem was mine and I got myself there and I was 384 00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:51,320 embarrassed about that. Me a grown what grown butt man, 385 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:56,200 Is that how you say it? Got myself into a pickle that I 386 00:30:56,200 --> 00:31:03,280 couldn't get myself out. Now at this turn of the year, my 387 00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:07,480 anxiety got so bad that I started to sleep less. 388 00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:11,920 I started waking up sporadically through the night, still going 389 00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:15,080 to work and operating heavy machinery, which is a really 390 00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:17,040 good idea. It's not. 391 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:25,080 And eventually, I started to not eat because the anxiety of 392 00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:29,200 knowing that I had to drive my car every day and I couldn't fix 393 00:31:29,200 --> 00:31:33,720 my problem myself and registration was coming again 394 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:42,080 was freaking me out. And one day, still not going to 395 00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:47,240 people, avoiding people, I found myself in the building next 396 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:50,000 door. I just wanted to swing through, 397 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:52,600 say goodbye to Pastor Kerry and Pastor Drew. 398 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:58,680 And Pastor Drew gave me the infamous question on a Sunday 399 00:31:58,680 --> 00:32:04,000 morning, How are you doing? What's new? 400 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:09,000 And I just couldn't hold it in anymore. 401 00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:13,800 I couldn't say I'm fine, man. Twice in one sermon. 402 00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:16,400 That's awesome. I couldn't say I'm fine. 403 00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:19,080 I couldn't try to avoid it any longer. 404 00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:26,200 It all came out. My mouth blabbed to him about 405 00:32:26,200 --> 00:32:30,280 how much anxiety I'd gotten myself into about the situation, 406 00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:37,920 about my hopelessness there. But instead of saying what I 407 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:40,840 would have expected him to say, which is cool, I'll pray for 408 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:44,560 you, which is honestly would have been so much better in that 409 00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:46,560 moment. That's what Michael wanted. 410 00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:50,240 He did the one thing that I needed. 411 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:56,200 He said, OK, well, once the kids all get picked up, I'll come out 412 00:32:56,200 --> 00:33:02,360 and I'll look at your car. I was like, that's not necessary 413 00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:05,120 actually. Just pray for me. 414 00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:06,920 That's all I need. I need more God. 415 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:10,600 I need the the feelings of anxiety to leave me. 416 00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:13,040 Don't come out and look at my car. 417 00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:16,080 I'm a bachelor. I have so many cans of Monster 418 00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:18,960 in the back seat. Please don't look. 419 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:21,840 Pretty sure there's still a takeout box back there. 420 00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:27,480 He said, Oh yeah, that's cool. And I don't know if you know 421 00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:31,320 Pastor Drew very well, but once he sets his mind on something, 422 00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:36,120 you can't get him off of it. I wouldn't describe him as 423 00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:41,080 necessarily pushy, but persistent. 424 00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:44,080 Thank you, Chris. He is persistent. 425 00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:49,360 And he got, Next thing I know, he was under my car out in the 426 00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:52,360 parking lot on a Sunday sun on a sunny Sunday morning. 427 00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:57,840 I'm standing there, not underneath my car because I know 428 00:33:57,840 --> 00:34:02,080 nothing about cars and I'm watching as people are walking 429 00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:06,200 out of church. And all I could think was, I am 430 00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:11,199 so embarrassed right now. I wasn't necessarily like, oh, 431 00:34:11,199 --> 00:34:13,600 this is this is great. I have somebody who knows what 432 00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:16,800 to do helping me. I'm so thankful. 433 00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:20,080 I was like, why couldn't he just pray for me and move on so I can 434 00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:23,679 continue being anxious? I know how to deal with that. 435 00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:26,560 I don't, but I knew what it was like. 436 00:34:28,520 --> 00:34:32,320 You see, one of my chief fears in my life is being a burden to 437 00:34:32,320 --> 00:34:34,360 other people. I hate it. 438 00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:37,320 Just about my whole life I have felt that way. 439 00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:40,880 Am IA burden to my sisters and my burden to my brother and my 440 00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:43,040 burden to my parents and my burden to my friends. 441 00:34:43,159 --> 00:34:46,320 I can't be. So I have to figure it out on my 442 00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:48,480 own. That's the only other option. 443 00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:54,639 But in that moment, Drew didn't treat me as a burden. 444 00:34:56,400 --> 00:35:01,720 Maybe a not so smart young man, but not a burden. 445 00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:05,520 He didn't hesitate. He jumped right in. 446 00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:10,240 He crawled out from under my car after asking me tons of 447 00:35:10,240 --> 00:35:12,400 questions that I just did not know the answers to. 448 00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:17,120 Asked me if I still had the list that they had given me with the 449 00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:19,280 parts and the and everything. And I was like, yeah, I still 450 00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:21,160 have it. I've no idea what any of it 451 00:35:21,160 --> 00:35:24,400 means or how to get there. He was like, cool, well, just 452 00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:26,560 send it to me. I'll start looking this week, 453 00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:29,560 pricing some things, trying to get you some cheap parts. 454 00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:31,760 We'll get your vehicle fixed. Don't worry about it. 455 00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:37,440 What do you think I did? I'm worried about it, Heather. 456 00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:42,240 I went home, I sent him the a picture of it and I sat down 457 00:35:42,240 --> 00:35:45,920 like, Oh my gosh, now someone's involved. 458 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:53,240 Monday came, Monday went, no call, no text. 459 00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:57,840 Tuesday came, Tuesday went, no call, no text. 460 00:35:57,840 --> 00:35:59,280 I'm like, oh, maybe he forgot about it. 461 00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:04,200 Oh, that would be so good. Wednesday came and he texted me, 462 00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:09,440 hey, when can you call? I was like, can I tell him I'm 463 00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:14,840 at work? So I was like, I give me a 464 00:36:14,840 --> 00:36:16,440 minute. I went and took my lunch break 465 00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:18,400 early, stepped out to my car and called him. 466 00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:23,280 I was expecting to hear, hey, you need like all this money. 467 00:36:23,880 --> 00:36:26,440 It's it's cheaper than it was, but it's still expensive. 468 00:36:27,480 --> 00:36:30,080 When can we order the parts? I was going to be like, OK, 469 00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:33,320 well, I don't, I don't have that money on hand. 470 00:36:33,600 --> 00:36:38,840 I'm a broke person. But he didn't say that. 471 00:36:40,520 --> 00:36:44,920 What he told me was the car parts were ordered. 472 00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:49,640 They're on their way. See, without me knowing it, this 473 00:36:49,640 --> 00:36:52,880 whole that whole time, while I was freaking out about getting 474 00:36:52,880 --> 00:36:56,880 help and having an issue to begin with, he had gone to 475 00:36:56,880 --> 00:37:00,680 Pastor Blake and Pastor Autumn and spoken with them. 476 00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:05,760 And they had gone and looked at the books of the church and were 477 00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:08,200 able to see that, yeah, no, we can actually help somebody right 478 00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:13,880 now. And so the church covered my 479 00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:20,920 parts and then he said the next thing that I was dreading, he 480 00:37:20,920 --> 00:37:23,600 said, hey, I've me and Pastor Kerry or the NSA. 481 00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:25,040 Pastor Kerry just calls you Kerry. 482 00:37:25,560 --> 00:37:31,120 Me and Kerry spoke and I noticed that you have bad front tires. 483 00:37:32,280 --> 00:37:34,520 You should probably rotate those every now and then. 484 00:37:34,920 --> 00:37:36,240 It's like rotate, What does that mean? 485 00:37:36,240 --> 00:37:42,440 You flip them upside down? Or he said, I need to know your 486 00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:46,600 tire side size 'cause we're going to order you tires, 2 new 487 00:37:46,600 --> 00:37:48,760 tires so that you can pass inspection. 488 00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:53,640 I'm standing in my company's parking lot, tears starting to 489 00:37:53,640 --> 00:37:56,400 come down my face. I'm now embarrassed from that. 490 00:37:56,600 --> 00:38:03,520 But not just that. The burden evaporated after 491 00:38:03,520 --> 00:38:07,440 three months of not feeling like I could even stand up, after 492 00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:09,920 three months of finding it even hard to breathe, and I didn't 493 00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:11,520 even realize that that was happening. 494 00:38:12,160 --> 00:38:14,960 I felt like I could take a fresh breath of air. 495 00:38:16,360 --> 00:38:18,520 I felt like a new man. I felt like I could stand up. 496 00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:21,880 I actually kind of understood what David was talking about 497 00:38:21,880 --> 00:38:23,840 when he said I can dance dignified. 498 00:38:23,840 --> 00:38:26,640 I was like, how do I get out of my pants and start dancing right 499 00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:30,120 here in the parking lot because something insane happened. 500 00:38:33,160 --> 00:38:39,240 And then he said something else. He said, and I know you don't 501 00:38:39,240 --> 00:38:44,680 know how to fix cars, so I've already talked and or talked to 502 00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:49,960 Bobby Guthrie, He's going to let us use his personal shop and 503 00:38:49,960 --> 00:38:53,680 I've talked to Ryan Fife who knows a lot about cars and he's 504 00:38:53,680 --> 00:38:55,520 going to come out and help us put the car parts in. 505 00:38:56,200 --> 00:39:02,320 So what are you doing Saturday? No, the answer was I'm fixing my 506 00:39:02,320 --> 00:39:10,400 car with you guys. I was shocked all of these 507 00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:14,400 problems for months that I've been carrying by myself, not 508 00:39:14,400 --> 00:39:24,880 allowing anybody in on we're gone in Galatians chapter 6 509 00:39:25,280 --> 00:39:31,880 verse verses 2 and 3, Paul is telling the Galatian church this 510 00:39:31,880 --> 00:39:38,600 little tidbit and it's just small, but he says bear one 511 00:39:38,600 --> 00:39:43,160 another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. 512 00:39:44,720 --> 00:39:50,960 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he 513 00:39:50,960 --> 00:39:57,720 deceives himself. I had thought of myself that 514 00:39:57,720 --> 00:40:03,520 whole time as though I was something I'd thought of myself 515 00:40:03,520 --> 00:40:06,920 as. Someone who had to maintain some 516 00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:10,840 kind of image. I can't let people know that I 517 00:40:10,840 --> 00:40:13,840 mess up. I can't let people know that I'm 518 00:40:13,840 --> 00:40:16,560 an idiot at times. In fact, most of the time, I 519 00:40:16,560 --> 00:40:26,680 can't let people know. But Drew didn't think of himself 520 00:40:27,160 --> 00:40:29,840 as something. He didn't look at me and go, 521 00:40:30,560 --> 00:40:34,680 well, you got yourself into this mess, that means you can get 522 00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:39,680 yourself out. He didn't say you're the dummy. 523 00:40:40,680 --> 00:40:44,000 You made bad decisions, deal with it. 524 00:40:44,720 --> 00:40:46,400 Lay down in the bed that you made. 525 00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:56,080 He jumped at the opportunity to help me without me even asking, 526 00:40:57,200 --> 00:41:00,920 just knowing that I had a burden that I was bearing alone. 527 00:41:05,280 --> 00:41:09,680 I think often times when we are carrying something and we don't 528 00:41:09,680 --> 00:41:14,040 want anybody to know, it's because we are prideful. 529 00:41:16,400 --> 00:41:20,160 We want to fix it ourselves so that we can get the glory 530 00:41:20,200 --> 00:41:25,960 ourselves, or we think so little of ourselves that we don't bring 531 00:41:25,960 --> 00:41:30,040 our burdens to people again. This is all pride. 532 00:41:31,360 --> 00:41:35,600 Both of those mindsets make it about you. 533 00:41:39,160 --> 00:41:42,960 Both of those mindsets say it matters what other people will 534 00:41:42,960 --> 00:41:46,200 say about me, what other people will think about me, what other 535 00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:50,000 people will do or not do. It matters. 536 00:41:50,200 --> 00:41:54,480 It doesn't. What matters is what Christ is 537 00:41:54,480 --> 00:41:59,200 going to do in your burden, and through your burden, what He's 538 00:41:59,200 --> 00:42:08,520 going to show you. Blake a while ago preached A 539 00:42:08,520 --> 00:42:10,560 sermon where he talked about vulnerability. 540 00:42:12,600 --> 00:42:15,920 In that sermon he said vulnerability is something that 541 00:42:15,920 --> 00:42:21,600 we should not take to everyone, Christian or not. 542 00:42:24,240 --> 00:42:28,880 That you should only be vulnerable with a few people, 543 00:42:29,320 --> 00:42:37,600 Trustworthy people. We all need to be that 544 00:42:37,600 --> 00:42:45,720 trustworthy person. We should all be able to carry 545 00:42:45,840 --> 00:42:53,400 someone's burden and be trusted with that when someone else is 546 00:42:53,400 --> 00:42:56,320 weak. Do you jump in? 547 00:42:59,680 --> 00:43:03,760 So please hear me when I say this, but this week if you are 548 00:43:03,760 --> 00:43:07,360 carrying something, include someone else with on it. 549 00:43:13,720 --> 00:43:19,960 I wouldn't say go post it all over Facebook or Instagram, but 550 00:43:19,960 --> 00:43:24,280 grab a brother or sister in Christ that you can trust. 551 00:43:25,440 --> 00:43:30,760 Don't think of yourself as too shameful or too weak or too 552 00:43:30,760 --> 00:43:37,160 unimportant to be helped or too important to be helped. 553 00:43:39,440 --> 00:43:43,080 And likewise, if someone does bring something up to you, or if 554 00:43:43,080 --> 00:43:47,720 you become aware of something, don't wait. 555 00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:54,560 Take on their burden. Don't hesitate. 556 00:43:54,760 --> 00:43:59,160 And don't say that I'm not qualified, or I don't have 557 00:43:59,160 --> 00:44:02,760 enough, or I just don't have time right now. 558 00:44:06,080 --> 00:44:09,080 Step in and be the hands and feet of Jesus to somebody, 559 00:44:12,080 --> 00:44:16,040 because by bearing their burden, you don't know what you do for 560 00:44:16,040 --> 00:44:23,200 them, what it speaks to them. If you actually can't help their 561 00:44:23,200 --> 00:44:28,360 problem, you still might be able to help them to somebody who 562 00:44:28,360 --> 00:44:32,840 can. Drew didn't take it on by 563 00:44:32,840 --> 00:44:37,680 himself. He included the church, he 564 00:44:37,680 --> 00:44:41,280 included Bobby Guthrie and Ryan Fife. 565 00:44:44,840 --> 00:44:49,520 So could you get someone the help that they needed or need? 566 00:44:52,760 --> 00:44:54,920 And please hear what I'm not saying. 567 00:44:56,120 --> 00:45:00,600 I'm not saying that we should all be helpless, that we should 568 00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:06,400 all live off of one another and like leeches and just use each 569 00:45:06,400 --> 00:45:12,280 other, Paul tells the Corinthian church. 570 00:45:13,040 --> 00:45:16,760 You should imitate me as I imitate Christ. 571 00:45:18,560 --> 00:45:22,160 See, Drew imitated Christ earlier this week to or earlier 572 00:45:22,160 --> 00:45:27,680 this year to me. Drew's act spoke of Jesus to me, 573 00:45:30,040 --> 00:45:34,480 so now I want to imitate him as he's imitated Christ. 574 00:45:35,560 --> 00:45:40,320 I want to better my life, not so that I get glory, but that I 575 00:45:40,320 --> 00:45:42,440 could better someone else's life when they're in need. 576 00:45:44,920 --> 00:45:49,480 So who in your life imitates Christ? 577 00:45:53,720 --> 00:45:56,280 Who in your life bears burdens with you? 578 00:45:59,920 --> 00:46:02,920 And better yet, who in your life is imitating you? 579 00:46:06,120 --> 00:46:08,360 And are you imitating Christ for them? 580 00:46:17,200 --> 00:46:19,760 Who can you be the hands and feet of Jesus for this week? 581 00:46:22,720 --> 00:46:23,080 Thank you.